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Mike Pack named cruise director for the Horizon


jimbo5544
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:) And my favorite, Jamie Dee, is on the Paradise making the first cruises to Cuba for the Carnival Brand. Thought she would be in the running for the Horizon, but now she will have been everywhere - Alaska, Australia et. al Maybe the next ship will be hers....

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This has been out for a little while (even though they just posted that video on FB). I would have to go back and see exactly when, but someone posted on his FB Page congrats on May 31 so it was definitely before then. He was on the Vista when the video was filmed and has been off the ship for a bit.

 

Anyway, there was discussion both before and after the announcement of who they thought it was going to be/why they chose Mike and someone asked Matt before it was announced during a Q&A session and he said he didn't want it. I think they said it was because he doesn't like the Vista Class as much as the other class of ships. It was a couple months ago so I don't know if I will ever find the posts again. But if he's staying on the Vista, then that doesn't make much sense. Unless it's because he doesn't like starting off on a brand new ship.

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:) And my favorite, Jamie Dee, is on the Paradise making the first cruises to Cuba for the Carnival Brand. Thought she would be in the running for the Horizon, but now she will have been everywhere - Alaska, Australia et. al Maybe the next ship will be hers....

 

Jaime could have had the Horizon if she wanted it. She certainly would have been Carnival's first choice. She chose the Paradise because her boyfriend, Rusty, is on that ship. (She's my favorite as well.)

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Anyway, there was discussion both before and after the announcement of who they thought it was going to be/why they chose Mike and someone asked Matt before it was announced during a Q&A session and he said he didn't want it. I think they said it was because he doesn't like the Vista Class as much as the other class of ships. It was a couple months ago so I don't know if I will ever find the posts again. But if he's staying on the Vista, then that doesn't make much sense. Unless it's because he doesn't like starting off on a brand new ship.

 

We were on the Vista with Matt in January when the Horizon itinerary was publically announced. Matt told us that he did not want the Horizon since it would not be doing a full season in Europe. He also recognized the importance of other CD's having this experience.

 

We were also on the Legend with JH and Sara Beth for BC10 Cool a couple of weeks ago. It appears that Carnival's current thinking is that they are going to spread around the CD position for new ships. We also learned that the new LNG fueled 5200 passenger XL class ships first coming out in 2020 will have 2 CD's.

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We were on the Vista with Matt in January when the Horizon itinerary was publically announced. Matt told us that he did not want the Horizon since it would not be doing a full season in Europe. He also recognized the importance of other CD's having this experience.

 

We were also on the Legend with JH and Sara Beth for BC10 Cool a couple of weeks ago. It appears that Carnival's current thinking is that they are going to spread around the CD position for new ships. We also learned that the new LNG fueled 5200 passenger XL class ships first coming out in 2020 will have 2 CD's.

 

Thanks for the info! I knew I saw that he said he didn't want it. Glad to hear from someone that knows firsthand the reasons why and can verify that it's true. I don't like to rely too much on what I see on FB as it's sometimes hard to decipher fact from rumor over there.

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Thanks for the info! I knew I saw that he said he didn't want it. Glad to hear from someone that knows firsthand the reasons why and can verify that it's true. I don't like to rely too much on what I see on FB as it's sometimes hard to decipher fact from rumor over there.

 

I suspect that Matt really would have liked to have had the Horizon. We also sailed with him on the Vista TA, where during the Q&A he said that Jaime had earned the spot and he would defer to her if she wanted it. I think that Carnival is doing the right thing by spreading it around. JH brought out 15 ships and he is the first to admit that this is an experience that others need to share, and that this change was overdue.

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I suspect that Matt really would have liked to have had the Horizon. We also sailed with him on the Vista TA, where during the Q&A he said that Jaime had earned the spot and he would defer to her if she wanted it. I think that Carnival is doing the right thing by spreading it around. JH brought out 15 ships and he is the first to admit that this is an experience that others need to share, and that this change was overdue.

 

I can see where it's good to let everyone have the experience. I'm sure it's a lot of work starting a new ship. I just hope it doesn't become like a lot of things, where they feel they are obligated to let everyone get a turn as to be "fair". I think it should be reserved for the best of the best and not an entry level CD. Experience and past performance matters. There are quite a few above average CDs on Carnival and I think Mike is an excellent choice. Eversen is my next favorite after Matt, though.

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I can see where it's good to let everyone have the experience. I'm sure it's a lot of work starting a new ship. I just hope it doesn't become like a lot of things, where they feel they are obligated to let everyone get a turn as to be "fair". I think it should be reserved for the best of the best and not an entry level CD. Experience and past performance matters. There are quite a few above average CDs on Carnival and I think Mike is an excellent choice. Eversen is my next favorite after Matt, though.

 

After listening to Sara Beth, I think the new ship CD position will be a reward for getting top ratings, but will not always go to the same person. More than once she mentioned of the ratings that the CD's receive from the Guest surveys. I believe this is on a 10 point scale, and the top CD's are in the 9.6 to 9.8 range. In a recent video on JH's page, Butch mentioned getting "only" 9.4 ratings when he was a CD, and I believe that he was probably the top rated CD in his time.

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After listening to Sara Beth, I think the new ship CD position will be a reward for getting top ratings, but will not always go to the same person. More than once she mentioned of the ratings that the CD's receive from the Guest surveys. I believe this is on a 10 point scale, and the top CD's are in the 9.6 to 9.8 range. In a recent video on JH's page, Butch mentioned getting "only" 9.4 ratings when he was a CD, and I believe that he was probably the top rated CD in his time.

 

Good to know. Sounds fair to me.

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The selection of a cruise director, doesn't enter into my algorithm for selecting a cruise. Yes a good cruise director can heighten one's experience and a terrible cruise director can lower the experience, but only if you specifically react to what the CD is doing or pushing.

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The selection of a cruise director, doesn't enter into my algorithm for selecting a cruise. Yes a good cruise director can heighten one's experience and a terrible cruise director can lower the experience, but only if you specifically react to what the CD is doing or pushing.

 

 

If you have one that is constantly making announcements then it can be bothersome to everybody so it can have an effect on your cruise whether you choose to participate in the activities or not. Hearing that Eric Brouman wasn't going to be on Glory in October was the tipping factor in me booking. While others enjoy him as an entertainer, his constant announcements were enough to drive me absolutely bonkers. "The voice from above" should have been silenced.

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Matt's gf is also on Vista. That may be a contributing factor as to why he didn't want Horizon. Just a thought.

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

 

Maybe. It never entered my mind that Matt would get the Horizon. The Vista is the newest ship and he just got that. I wouldn't think he would be assigned to new ship after new ship.

 

On another note, I know people say they don't care about the cruise director. I used to feel like that too until I had a couple of outstanding ones. I have never had a bad CD. I've had some I liked more than other, but they all work hard. Announcements really don't bother me. In fact, I wish they would play them in the room where you can actually hear them and have a volume control so you can turn them all the way down or mute if you weren't interested. I hate having to go in the hallway to hear announcements. To me it's just part of the sounds of vacation. That's how I look at it. But anyway, a good CD can make a great vacation even better. A whole group of us was booked on the Vista for next year. After we sailed the Magic, all but 8 of us rebooked it for the Magic at least in part because of Eversen Bevelle! Those of us who stayed with the Vista, get Matt and are very much looking forward to sailing with him. I think they do make a difference.

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I had Matt as an assistant CD to Butch one time. He seemed fun but you don't see the assistant as much as the CD. I've never had Mike but from the video John Heald posted he looks like a nice fun guy!

 

Butch will forever be my favorite. I miss him!

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In Feb, on the Vista, we actually had both Matt and Mike on our sailing, since it was Matt's last before his vacation. As others in this thread have indicated, Matt stated that he was not interested in the Horizon, citing the amount of work it is to get a new ship ready. There was a subtle indication at that time that Mike would be assigned to the Vista. There was also a not so subtle indication that Matt could have his pick of whatever ship he wanted.

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Sorry I'm late to the party, but congrats to Mr. Pack! As I've mentioned before, I sailed with him as the CD on the Conquest about 3 years ago. Ever since then, his fan club here seemed to grow and grow. I also watched him move "up" to bigger and better ships (Breeze, Vista). So I'm not terribly surprised he was fingered for this job.

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